


The Second Age of Fire

by Arvernii



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Centaurs, Dragons, Dwarves, Elves, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, High Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Medieval, Prince Harry Styles, Prince Louis Tomlinson, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 18:45:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12216735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arvernii/pseuds/Arvernii
Summary: *You don't need to be a fan of any fandom to enjoy this story*Louis is the prince to one the last Elven kingdoms, one of only two remaining.   The rest of the continent of Elve'terra, where the other twelve kingdoms of Elves were, were taken over in recent time by Humans; who came over to the continent as refugees not ten generations ago.   Establishing a nation known simply to Louis and his people as 'the Empire'.As clouds of war and fear loom over his island, Louis becomes the very thing his people have feared for millennia; he betrays his people to protect them.   Absolute power corrupts absolutely and as Louis goes to ever increasing desperate attempts to fulfill his promise, he proves the fears of his people right.With the land now on the brink of destruction, Louis must right the wrong he has unleashed upon his home. He must unite the separated, warring peoples of Elve'terra; from the underground Dwarves to the rampaging Beastmen to the scattered Dragons and even his own people and the Humans who have vowed to kill himOr the land will be burned in the fires of his former hatred.*this will be a slow build story as I'm creating the world from scratch*





	1. Prologue

The Age of Fire was the pinnacle for the Elves, their golden age. However everything that rises must fall and Elves became a shadow of their glory as their empire was splintered apart. Elves, afraid of their past, were easy targets to outside threats as they refused to do what made them great.

The Great War, the Sundering, the Time of Tears; all names for the conflict where the Humans slew the Dragons, enslaved the Elves and forced the Dwarves back underground. But it wasn't always this way, the Humans first came as refugees, fleeing troubles in their homeland far across the western sea. They were greeted warmly by the Elven Queens and for three hundred years there was peace. Eventually though, the Humans grew restless and took advantage of their meek neighbors.

Their populations were exploding and their people demanded more resources; they started to cut down the Great Forests to make room for their cities and farms, they dug up the earth to look for iron, gold, silver and gems. They started taking advantage of their neighbors, knowing the Elves were a peaceful people.

The Elves, afraid of conflict, simply moved out of their way. The Dwarves however, claiming the riches of the earth as their own as they always have, started getting into armed conflicts with the Humans. The Humans were no match for Dwarven technology and thus started enslaving Elves, forcing them to use their magic for the war effort. The Elven Queens turned to the Dragons for help, as the Dragons solved any conflicts that the other races had in the past.

The eldest Dragon went to the human king, Althor Styles, to negotiate but it was slain in a show of power. Fueled by the slaying of the dragon, the Humans rallied and forced the Dwarves back into defensive positions; afterwards the Humans marched upon the mountains to the west that the Dragons called home. Vastly outnumbered, the Dragons were slain, but the small handful of survivors fled across The Barrier into Shangri'la. After the defeat of the Dragons, the Humans turned their attention to the Elves and the limping Dwarves.

The Elves had magic but they refused to turn their gift into a weapon, like how it was used in the Age of Fire, until it was far too late. The Humans conquered them with little resistance. The Dwarves, already defeated and shaken, fled deep underground when they saw the Humans coming for them; returning to their ancestral homes, sealing their tunnels behind them.

The Elves were enslaved, and their royal bloodlines executed. They were forced to tear down their own cities and reconstruct their buildings so they reflected human needs and architecture; they were forced to use fire magics to set the trees they once called home ablaze to create space for the Humans. Althor, destroyer of nations, built an empire over the tattered remains of his foes, covering the entire continent.

This was the world I, Louis, was born into; as an Elven Prince of one of the last kingdom of Elves as my grandmothers never allowed Humans on our island. Across the sea, clearly visible, laid the Human Empire, a great hulking beast that stared at us endlessly, waiting for the time to swallow us, as it swallowed everything else eventually.


	2. Doncaster

I stared out the window of my carriage, just admiring Doncaster in the twilight. Doncaster was a beautiful city, created by equal parts craftsmanship and magic. Graceful towers peaked out over trees, in fact all buildings seemed to have a certain flowing grace to them; this gracefulness wasn't only decorative, when it rained, the water simply flowed down these buildings, water never pooled or puddled. Even the shorter, more modest buildings had a certain grace to them. Trees dotted the city, especially in the many parks, and flowers lined most walkways. The city was full with the song of bells and chimes as the breeze rustled them. It was serene.

On the right side of my carriage, my best friend friend was riding a phant as we made our way toward the palace. Chandler, was the complete opposite of me, even in height; the only thing we had similar was our brown hair and blue eyes. Chandler was a full head taller than myself with icy blue eyes that looked like frozen water while mine had streaks of green in the blue, Chandler's brown hair reached past his shoulders, with the points of his ears just barely visible while mine didn't even cover my ears. Chandler was also a Santheoi, or Blood Elf, unlike me.

Santheoi weren't an actual race like the Martheoi, Sea Elves, or myself, the Doncastheoi; however they were a group of Elves that separated themselves from the others. He was technically part of the Ictheoi, the Snow Elves, his pale skin was proof of his homeland; Doncaster and Glaceris were the only two kingdoms of Elves left. His Ice Armor was also proof of his homeland as only the Ictheoi new how to make armor that was hard as metal out of True Ice, or Never-Melt Ice. Despite its durability, the armor weighed was much as a pile of fluffy snow. Despite his ice armor, the fact that he was a Blood Elf was clearly visible on his face: his left eye was covered by an eye patch, as he lost it during the Blood Oath, the ritual that transformed him into a Blood Elf.

He was the liaison for the Blood Elf pirates that lived on the island as Blood Elves were the sect of Elves that took the fight to the Human's. Blood Elves, however, also patrolled the coast and other areas, looking for escaped Elven slaves to help them reach home, which is how new Elves arrived here. Chandler was also my bodyguard as I was the only son from my mother, but he was my best friend more than anything else.

When we got to the palace I got out of the carriage and petted the Shi'pandas who pulled the carriage as Chandler and other members of the escort dismounted their phants. Pandas were strong, patient animals and even though they couldn't usually couldn't be ridden as they had weak backs, they were strong when it came to pulling. Phants were far smaller versions of elephants that roamed the southern plains on the main continent and were used mainly as mounts. Pandas and phants were about the same size, they could look an Elf or Human in the eyes although Phants were far heavier.

"Louis" I heard a sing-song voice say behind me as everyone I was with took two steps back. I turned to see my eldest younger sister Charletta. "Sister, you missed it, the Emerald Feather birds were doing their mating dances today, you should have come" I said as I walked up to her. She sighed "I had...matters to attend to, but I'm happy you had fun." I was her elder but she wore a bronze and sapphire circlet round her head, a cloak made of swan feathers and a embroidered silk dress. I myself only wore black pants and a plain white shirt; I didn't like dressing up and I couldn't over shadow my sister, the future queen, anyway.

Elves were a matriarchal society, thus as the oldest princess, she would sit on the White Rose Throne instead of me when mother passed, stepped down, or Walked into Shangri'la. My father, politically, was little more than my mother's sperm donor and was only one of four men whom she had relations with; the only reason I knew he was my father, in fact, was that our eyes were the same, my younger sisters had no idea who their father was and no one cared.

It's not that men weren't appreciated in our society, in fact the sexes were almost _totally_ equal. Men could join a Path, a religious sect, they could own property, they could adopt children and they were paid equally, however a woman had total control of the home and family life.

The reasoning was that the woman had to give birth, the woman had to become pregnant and suffer through all the unpleasantness of that. Women could create life, and it was they who suffered everything that followed, thus they had more power over sex and the family then men did. A woman could have multiple husbands if she wanted and if the men consented, and although a man could have many wives as well, it was almost never the case.

Men were also seen as more emotional, more prone to anger and making rash decisions than women were; because of this women were trusted more politically even though there was no official rule that stated a man could not go into politics. However, there wasn't been a King since the Age of Kings, more commonly known as the Age of Fire.

A man could still get a political career though. He could get the position of a powerful advisor or an overseer role within a queen's court. However because I was a man, I just waited around to be married off, to fulfill my political duty of planting a baby in a woman, forming a political alliance between my Family and another.

Behind my sister, a Human male walk up to stand beside her, an ambassador from the Empire, I could almost feel Chandler stiffen behind me and a hand went to his side, ready to pull out his Ice sword. I ignored him and the ambassador as I waited for my sister to explain. I knew it was bad news as she she started speaking the Human's guttural language "Let's go inside."

As soon as we entered she turned to me and said "Louis, mother and I have decided that you are to marry Princess Gemma Styles. You will be her Consort, officially, as your wedding will not be an actual recognized wedding within the Empire as Elves and Humans cannot marry" my sister said in a heavy voice.

"I...we...what?!" I stuttered in Elvish. "You...these invaders destroyed our kin and now you're trying to get your brother to marry one?" Chandler snarled, coming in uninvited. The Ambassador's face darkened slightly at the Elvish since he didn't know our language was thus didn't know what we said but he got the tone. "We need this Louis, out scouts report that the Empire is starting to raise armies again, if they decide to attack us...I don't know if we can hold them back" my sister replied quickly in Elvish, hoping to draw this conversation to a swift close.

"What about the Aquarian Wall? The strong current that circles our island and keeps us safe from their ships?" I protested. "The Blood Elves will defend this island with their lives, Doncaster and Glaceron are the last two Elven Queendoms left, neither will fall if a Blood Elf still draws breath" Chandler added. "Our scouts report that they are starting to make ships out of metal" my sister said, defeated, even Chandler paused.

"I'd love to marry Princess Gemma" I said in the Human's language and only got a tight lipped smile. My sister nodded sadly. "If you'll excuse me, I have to inform my master" the ambassador said before leaving the room. "I'm sorry Louis, but I think this is for the best, for our people" my mother said sadly, who was standing on a staircase along with the rest of my sisters. Chandler just snorted.

"There has to be a way we can turn this event into our favor" Chandler said as we walked through the streets of Doncaster; I didn't want to be home right now.. "What are you going to do? Send in Blood Elves with me and pretend they're my servants?" I teased. Chandler stopped and smiled "That's exactly what I'm going to do. Louis please let me put together what your retinue will be, I'll choose the best spies and recruiters we have, we can finally start building the Blood Knights within the Human's own borders! Come on!" he said, pulling me in a different direction of the city.

-

I walked through Doncaster with Chandler in silence, weaving between carts and carriages pulled by pandas and the occasional phant rider, just thinking. I wasn't upset at my family but rather this entire situation, I was upset at Humans for forcing my family to have to do this to me. Would I have to...'unionize' with my wife?

We got the occasional Half-elf although they kept to themselves as our people really didn't trust them. They formed their own little city called Haven on the eastern side of the island. However from the rumors it appears that they preferred us over Humans so I guess it all worked out.

I've seen Half-elves and I didn't want to create anymore with this Human woman; half-elves didn't really...look quite right. Their ears weren't as pointed as ours nor were they completed rounded like Human's; while Elves tended to be slender, Humans were bulkier with broader shoulders and hips with Half-elves in the middle. I wasn't only worried about making more Half-elves, how would I be treated? Humans enslaved my people, would I be treated any better?

I didn't know that much about Humans if I was being honest, only that they enslave Elves and couldn't use magic. I heard rumors though from Elven refugees that somehow escaped the Humans lands to live with us.

Without even realizing, Chandler led me passed the University, the Observatory and the Nexus, where magical study and experiments took place, to a bustling place that looked like a plaza. The plaza was actually the grounds of the Temple, which was a misleading name as there were actually six temples within The Temple. "There is someone I need to talk too, c'mon" Chandler said, already weaving through the crowd.

 


	3. Gods and Elve'Anthroic

My people had a pantheon of gods rather than the single Sun God of the Humans. Pyra, The goddess of Fire. Aquaria the goddess of Water. Terra the goddess of Earth. Tempesta the goddess of wind, Arcana the goddess of Magic and creator of The Barrier and lastly Bioa the female twins of Life and Death.

They didn't just control the natural world though, they were also associated with different things and worked in pairs to bring balance. For example, Tempesta was fun and relaxed, she brought music to my people; she was also the balance to Terra who was a stubborn, unmoving, hardworking goddess who taught my ancestors how to become craftsmen.

Pyra was associated with the strong emotions; hatred, anger and fear but also love and passion because she was representative of the fire in our hearts. She was the most important Goddess as it was her that made us alive, Bioa gave us life but Pyra gave us the spark of emotion, made us truly alive. She was also the goddess of fertility as one fire could create countless others. Pyra was the most important Goddess, the queen of the Gods.  

Legends say that in the Age of Chaos, she set the world ablaze and created new life from the ashes, molding the ashes into forms we recognize today, although it was Bioa who ultimately gave those ashes life, Pyra still held a very special place in the Pantheon. Her counterpart was Aquaria for water extinguishes fire and she was associated with calmness and logic.   

Arcana was the Goddess of non-elemental magic, named the Arcane after her and it was used, for example, to move objects or to foresee the future or to defend yourself with wards. Arcana, however, does not have a partner much like Bioa. Arcana taught how to seek knowledge.  

Aquaria's followers often had philosophical discussions and weren't concerned with the mundane that often, Arcana's followers however would venture into ruins to discover lost secrets or conduct research, they actually sought knowledge.  The Great Libraries were maintained by Arcana's followers as well. While Aquaria's followers would sit and debate the great philosophical or moral questions for days at a time, Arcana's followers actually went out and searched for knowledge or conducted experiments.

Tempesta and Terra were the second pairing and again were opposites. Terra's followers we were usually people of the Earth: farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, carpenters and the like while Tempesta's followers were artists in every sense of the word from writers to performers to sculptors and so on.

Bioa was a complicated Goddess, she was depicted as having two heads to represent the duality of Life and Death; one in ten Elven women will die in childbirth, for example. From them we get Light and Dark Magic; Light magic was used to heal and defend while Dark magic was used to harm and curse.

Each Goddess had their own outlook on life and taught that to their followers, leading to these different philosophies of the Paths. The Path of Fire, the Path of Earth, the Path of Life and Death, the Path of Water, etc etc were religious sects dedicated to each of the respective Goddesses. The Path of Fire was by far the most powerful.  Men could join the Paths, but a man has never become a High Priest.  

The temple grounds were full of people in appropriately colored robes, and ordinary citizens who came for a religious service or blessing. "Follow me" Chandler said, walking though the Temple towards one of the back corners where a statue was surrounded by Elves. Most elves around the statue had a missing body part, usually an arm or an eye, much like Chandler; most wore scars and it was easily to recognize the Blood Elves from the rest of the population. The statue in the middle was of Sanguiaris the God of Blood and War. Sanguiaris was an Old God.

The Goddess each had husbands who were collectively referred to as the Old Gods since their worship was all but outlawed since the Age of Fire. The Old Gods were the destructive forces of nature, Pyra was the gentle flame of the campfire or the cooking fire, Pyris was the out of control wildfire, or the fire that burned down cities. Tempesta was the Goddess of the gentle wind, Bresis was the tornado.

Worse was that the Old Gods would often form alliances, for example when Pyris and Terris form an alliance, volcanoes would erupt; when Bresis and Aquaer formed an alliance, a hurricane would ravage the coast. The Age of Kings, more commonly called the Age of Fire, was the last time the Old Gods were actively worshipped, the last time men had any political power within Elven society, and the last time the Elves were unified under a single ruler.

Elve'Anthoric was the name of the Elven empire that spanned the entire continent, stretching even to the soutern lands where the Beastmen lived, a race of people that not even Humans have been able to defeat. Very similar to the current Human empire, Elve'Anthoric was led by a single man, the Son of Cinder.

Pyris, the God of Fire, was said to have walked the continent and had an affair with an Elven person, the child and all their descendant sons, all became the Sons of Cinder, the emperor of Elve'Anthoric. Not much else is known about the sons, all of their names have been erased from history as a warning to all modern day men.

Elve'Anthroic was the reason men didn't have any power as the Age of Fire was also a period of constant warfare. The Sons of Cinder pushed the borders of Elve'Anthoric with each passing king until, the stories say, they even started building ships to conquer the lands across the ocean. Whatever lay across the ocean, most likely the lands were Humans from, destroyed every army send there, but the Sons of Cinder wouldn't give up on the idea. It was said that eventually every man was either dead, lost at sea, or maimed near the end of Elve'Anthoric

The situation turned so desperate at the Sons of Cinder started forcing themselves upon women and men alike, forcing them to birth him children to continue his thirst for fresh conquests. How a male could give birth was unthinkable, yet somehow the Sons of Cinder managed to impregnate men as well as women in the tales.

A wicked law existed within Elve'Anthoric near the end of the empire, that when an Elf turned nineteen in the Empire, they were to journey to the Capital of Pyr'acile and allow the Son of Cinder to impregnate them, failure to do so would result in death. It is said that every single modern Elf can trace his or her family to a Son of Cinder, eventually.

Orphia the Prophetess, was the main wife of the last Son of Cinder and after witnessing a law passed that stated that children would start being drafted into the Burning Legions, she lead an uprising of women against her husband.

Eventually successful, she disbanded the Empire and place one of her daughters in control of a piece of territory, which would later become the Elven Queendoms, and reformed the political and religious institutions, forming the current system of the matriarchy and the worship of the Goddesses. Cults still worshiped the Old Gods, especially Pyris, but they always did so in secret; to see even one of the Old Gods openly worshiped just shows how desperate our people have become.

"Chandler? Why is the Prince here?" one of the Blood Elves, who only had her right arm, asked as they all turned to look at us. "The Prince is going to be married to a Human Princess, I was thinking his 'honor guard' could be some of us..." Chandler said before going into his thoughts.

"I think it's a great idea, but the Humans know what we look like...after all most Elves simply use magic to heal themselves if they become this badly injured. "If I may ask, why are Blood Elves...why..." I trailed off, unsure of how to ask the question without being offensive. "During the Blood Oath, we offer part of our bodies to Sanguiaris and in return he gives us access to abilities that we wouldn't otherwise have. The Blood Oath isn't permanent, in fact when you give the Oath, you say exactly what you want to do with the power you're given. When the Oath is fulfilled, you get that part of your body back, but also lose the powers."

"What is your Oath?" I asked Chandler, now curious. "I can't say, it's a personal bargain between myself and Sanguiaris " Chandler answered simply. "We could send in some Blood Magi" one of the Blood Elves said, going back to the original topic "They only lose their tongue so they'll blend right in, Louis can easily explain away why they don't speak." 

"Blood Magi don't lose body parts? Only tongues?" I asked, now aware of how little I actually knew about the Blood Elves. Chandler nodded "To perform most magic you need both arms and a Blood Mage doesn't need an Oath to get access to Blood Magic,  just a guarantee to not share any secrets." "What's different about Blood magic than normal magic?" I asked.

"Normal magic draws on the bodies' natural energy, which is why you'll get tired after a few spells. Blood Magic uses one's life force to fuel spells, a Blood Mage can die if he or she tries to do too much, while a normal spell will only knock you unconscious. However Blood Magic is far more powerful than normal magic and is even capable of doing things that normal magic cannot do...but I can't tell you anymore as you're uninitiated" a Blood Elf said.

"Ok so back to the original question...?" Chandler said. The Blood Elves looked at each other before they all smiled at almost the same time "Yes, we'll send some Blood Mages with you; leave the rest to us, Prince" one of them said.

 


	4. The Dawn Fire

A parade was held in my honor, from the palace to the airdock, where an airship would take me to the Human capital of Draconia. Chandler and I rode on the backs of our phants while my personal pandas pulled a cart that had all my belongings and what we would take. The atmosphere though, was one of a funeral despite the upbeat, happy music that played.

Citizens stared at me with the same regret as one who could not put down the dying family pet and allowed it to suffer because of their own weakness; they all fully believed that I was being sent to a lifetime of suffering. They also believed though, that it was a necessary sacrifice, as if I could protect our homeland from the ever-hungry Empire.

At the base of the tower which housed the airdocks, a group of Blood Elves, six women and six men, waited for me. "Louis these are the best of best, strong in both Blood Magic and the Blood Blade fighting techniques. They will not speak under torture, they each have a strong reason to hate Humans and they have no ties anywhere so they'll fight to their last breath. There is nothing more dangerous than warrior that has nothing to lose" the lead Blood Elf said as I stared at the twelve Blood Elves that were dressed in normal clothes rather than the red and black cloaks that all Blood Elves wore. "Our lives our yours" they all said together I nodded and they fell in line as I walked past, behind Chandler. "Long your head high and show your ears proudly" the lead Blood Elf called after me.

At the top of the airdock tower, standing in front of the bridge that would let me board the actual airship, I was surprised to see my youngest sister dressed in magnificent, beautiful red and gold full length robes, waiting for me. "Sister? What are you doing here?" I asked formally, not wanting to disrespect her robes as she was one of the highest ranking priestesses of the Path of Fire, a daughter of Pyra. All of my sisters were High Priestesses as was custom and would remain so for the rest of their lives, or until they were needed to sit on the throne.

She didn't say anything, but there was a wetness in her eye as she reached into her robes. Cupped gently in both hands, she held a piece of what seemed to tiny gold bowl, so small that it could be easily be held in the hand of a young child, and inside the bowl was seemed to be a burning piece of ash, no bigger than the nail on my little finger. I heard Chandler and the Blood Elves make a strange noise behind me.

I stared at the burning ember in her hand, uncomprehending for a long moment before saying "I am Unkindled, I'm not a member of the Path of Fire, why do you give me a piece of the Dawn Fire? I am a man, if you give a man a piece of the Dawn Fire, it will awaken the Son of Cinder inside him" I whispered, as if the ember could hear me.

"To keep you safe, with this ember Pyra will be watching you. I believe in the strength of your spirit, I think you can resist the call of the Dawn Fire that you feel as a man and my Fire sisters agree" she said, still holding out the tiny bowl with the burning ember. I outstretched my hands, cupping them together as my sister gently placed the Sacred Kiln in my hand. Even touching the kiln, I felt like I was committing a great sin.

The kiln was warm but not hot in my hand, and even though the metal I could feel the dormant power of the Dawn Fire within the ember. The Dawn Fire was the first flame that Pyra and Pyris gave the world, the same fire that was used to form the sun and whose ash was used to form the world. With an Ember, one could use Pyromancies, the power of Pyris and Pyra themselves.

Pyromancy is the magic known only by the walkers of the Path of Fire, who can wield the Sacred Flame/Dawn Fire after a lifetime of study, meditation and prayer. Pyromancy and the common fire magic known by the populace were radically different. For example it was said that you could use the Dawn Fire to purge sin from a person, by lighting them on fire with the Sacred Flame. The Dawn Fire could also become solid, if you threw a Dawn Fire fireball at someone, it had weight.

My sister also handed me a lid for the kiln that could lock the kiln, for the Dawn Fire could burn without air, and a golden chain that connected to a small loop on the lid of the kiln to be worn around my neck before finally stepping to the side, allowing me to the enter the airship waiting for me. The kiln was warm against my skin was I tucked it under my shirt, it didn't make me overly hot though. I boarded the airship, Humans called airships blimps, zeppelins, or dirigibles and were powered by air magic, it was the only way in and out of the island other than the ships of the Blood Elves.

Behind me the twelve Blood Elves, including Chandler, boarded the airship with me, helping load the animals and all my stuff on board the ship as well We were greeted by a pair of Humans who simply said "We'll be helping your crew navigate you safely toward the capital." None of the Elves mentioned what my sister gave me, not even Chandler who watched out the window as wind mages started moving the ship up and out over the city, toward the ocean. "We'll be arriving in time for dinner" one crew said as we sailed just beneath the clouds. Our island looked tiny compared to the giant landmass of the mainland continent; it filled with me determination however to know that I may be able to make things better for my people.

"Remember, you're supposed to be Louis servants, so even though you want to spit in their eyes, treat the Humans with humility. Once we learn the lay of the land, then you'll start the real mission of gathering information and recruiting Elven slaves for our cause" Chandler whispered in Elvish and all the Blood Elves nodded. The pair of Humans glanced at him but said nothing.

-

The trip was uneventful, except for the Blood Elves who carefully mapped the lands we flew over as the Humans have never allowed an airship to fly over their lands; they carefully hid their activities from the Humans on board the ship and just pretend to stare out the window. Below us, camps of warriors were set up and we could see them staring at us with looking glasses, making sure we made no diversions and didn't try anything. The camps were carefully planned out and whenever you looked down, three were always visible. Just before sunset, a grand city, _far_ larger than Doncaster, came into view.

The city was divided into two sections, each surrounded by it's own wall. The city was actually built around a lake, with the city itself being built around the shores of the lake and two massively large buildings built on an island in the center of the lake, connected to the city by a single wooden bridge. The houses closer to the lake were large, but the houses closer to the outer wall were smaller and more shabbily built. The second wall separated these nicer homes from the poorer ones but inside of the 'poor' side of the city, another wall separated a section of the city off from the rest of the city.

Trading boats dotted the lake, coming in from a large river that fed into the lake and among the trading ships, small warships also floated on the water. A large stone wall separated the city from the surrounding wilderness. Farms and small hamlets dotted the immediate area outside the walls.

A single fire arrow shot into the sky and one of the Humans said "Stop the ship, we can go no further." The crew of the airship obeyed and we could feel the airship come to a gentle stop, hovering in the air; below us, a company of armored horsemen rode out of the city toward us. "Alright so everyone except the crew board one of the dropships, it's time for Prince to get married" one of the Humans said.

I clutched the kiln within my shirt and followed the crew to one of the small vessels that would take us to the ground, as the actual airship couldn't land on the ground without tiring the crew who still needed enough strength to fly back as they couldn't stay in Human lands.

The tiny ship took us to the ground where a company of horsemen stared at me from behind their helmets. They didn't even say anything as they parted down the middle and a horsemen without any armor rode to us in a black outfit, a small circlet of gold on his head.

He was taller than most of his companions with bright green eyes and long brown hair that reached his shoulders. He handled his horse effortlessly with one hand, carrying a certain dignity and grace with him. He was gorgeous...for a Human. "Prince Louis, I'm Harry Styles, your soon to be brother-in-law. I've come to escort you to the place you will be living" he said in a deep voice as another horse was brought up for me.

Elves didn't ride horses, as the Humans brought horses with them from their homeland. I shook my head and mounted one of my phants as soon as it was taken off a dropship and saddled up. Phants were slightly larger than horses, so the Humans had to look slightly up to me, a fact that gritted their teeth I'm sure.

Several awkward, silence went by as the dropships were unloaded until the last one went back to the airship. "Alright well, come on" the green eyed prince said, turning his horse around to ride back toward the city. My friends loaded up a wagon with all my stuff and followed on foot, guiding the pandas after us.

 


	5. The Tower

The city while grand from above was anything but on the ground. The city was cramped and smelled of manure, a small, dead, furry creature lay in a puddle of water close to the gate. People stopped and stared at us, not even trying to hide their disdain as we passed. "Where are all the Elves?" I asked. "The Elves are not allowed to out at night and it's already sunset, they have their own section of the city" the green eyed Human replied over his shoulder "You won't be meeting any of them however, they are beneath your lofty stature, they're simple working folk"

As soon as we past the second wall, it was like a different city. Buildings were at least two floors tall and the smell was far better but still wasn't as clean as Doncaster. While the outer city had dirt streets, these were paved with stones; guards were also less plentiful here instead of being on every corner like in the outer city. We eventually made our way onto the bridge and crossed it as the green eyed Human said "That's the Cathedral of the Sun, the center of the religion and were the Patriarch lives."

The building was massive, easily the largest building in the city. The building was cylinder with rounded walls instead of the usual square buildings, on the top of building was a massive dome of painted glass. On the door of the cathedral, the sun was painted on the door. I wondered how Arcana, who was represented by the sun, or Pyra who created the sun, felt in being worshipped in the second hand. After all the Humans worshipped Solaire, striking down Arcana and Pyra as false gods, as according to them it was Solaire who created everything.

"And this is where you'll be living, the Imperial Palace" the green eyed Human said, looking at the other building on the island. It was beautiful building, in a rugged sort of way; like how mountains were beautiful. The building was clearly made for defense in mind as the entire building was made from stone. Flat roofs allowed for archers to stand on the walls and most windows, except for the highest ones, were little more than slits.

"Come" the green eyed Human said as he lead us to some stables and dismounted before going on foot "You'll be given your own housing, for your own comfort." "They're already trying to get you out of the way" Chandler whispered in my ear as we followed him. He was right.

We walked through the castle until we reached the back, where a walled in garden was, and at the far side was a lonely tower. "The entire tower is yours" the green eyed Human said, opening the heavy wooden door with a key before handing it to me "Have a good rest. Tomorrow we'll throw a welcome feast for you." The Humans walked away, except for a lone person that stood beside the door leading into the castle, to watch us or just keep the garden safe at night I was too sure. "Come on" I said in Elvish and walked inside the tower.

It could have been worse, it could have been a prison cell.

The tower was sparsely decorated with there being four floors, the bottom was where a kitchen, dining room and sitting room was. The second floor was all small bedrooms with the third floor housed a small library, a study and several empty rooms where with the top floor being one massive bedroom.

"Well let's make ourselves comfortable, Odis and Faldis set up wards around the tower in case anyone tries to sneak in and make the tower sound proof too. Chader, use one of the empty rooms to set up an Oracle Fire, we need to get in contact with the other Blood Elves as soon as we can. The rest of you, unpack and enter Shangri'la, walk the city and see what you can find out. We don't know how far the Elven slaves have fallen, so remain unseen as they might be in Shangri'la as well." Chandler and said and all the Blood Elves nodded.

I went up to the roof, just to get a look around as the Blood Elves started their mission. The view from the tower was pretty, the city surrounded us from all sides and the lights of torches lit up the city, mirroring the sky. I was surprised though that a large bonfire was on the top of tower, complete with wood and dried grass for tinder.

The kiln seemed to grow slightly hotter as if the Dawn Fire could sense a new home was close; every Elven settlement had a Dawn Fire bonfire, usually housed in a temple, but this would do. Plus, it would send a message, having the Dawn Fire in a Human city.

I pulled out the tiny kiln and opened it before grabbing few stems of dried grass and holding it to the ember. The grass caught fire almost immediately and I carefully placed the dried grass on the tinder pile where it could easily reach the wood. The fire spread quickly until it was a roaring flame in moments, I felt a strange satisfaction as it consumed the wood.

I watched the flickering flames and a sense of calmness washed over me, like a trance. I understood now why the Moth Priestesses existed, those who spent their _entire_ lives dedicated to the Dawn Fire, tending to it, watching over it.

I continued to watch the fire and as I did, I could almost feel it beckoning. As I got closer, the crackling and popping of the flames...changed somehow, as if the fire was whispering to me, drawing me ever closer. "Louis are you up here?" Chandler said, snapping back to reality.

"Louis what are you doing?" Chandler asked, looking at my outstretched hand that was being licked by the flames. I pulled back and stared at my hand, which of course was unharmed, but I was still amazed; was this the infamous allure that the Dawn Fire had on men? "I'm going to bed" I said, more than a little shaken.

"That's probably a good idea" Chandler said, following me down, looking at the bonfire as I climbed the ladder down before following me.

 


	6. The Blessing of Pyris

Sleep was restless, as if it was too cold and the blankets weren't warm enough. I felt slight chills, as if I was getting sick or something and the more time went on, the more I just wanted to sit by the fire and warm up.

I tried to fight it but after several hours my feet just decided enough was enough. I got up and went up to the roof, sitting directly in front of fire, I was warm again. However that...pull happened again, stronger this time.

And this time Chandler didn't save me.

I felt like a passenger in my own body as my body stood up and walked into the fire.

The flames surrounded me, warm but not hot, but through the flickering flames I couldn't see anything. The smoke and the flames became thicker and thicker until I couldn't see anymore. The smoke stung my eyes and when I finally blink, I was in a different place.

I was standing on bare dirt covered in ash, in the middle of a raging forest fire that stretched as far as the eyes could see; off to my right was an unharmed temple. Squinting through the smoke, I watched a crowd of dozens and dozens of red and gold robed women, walkers of the Path of Fire, walking toward the temple with flames in hand that lit their way. Was I in Shangri'la? I had to be but I don't remember crossing the Barrier. I knew that the Holy Lands were in Shangri'la but uninitiated could never reach them, so the stories went.

I turned around as I heard a thunderous sound and watched as a meteor barreled towards me from the sky. I ran to the temple but couldn't seem to get any further from the meteor, or closer to the temple. I curled up in a fetal position and covered my head with my hands, trying my best to brace for impact. Instead of a loud fiery explosion of death though, it landed with a soft thud. "You're the first man to enter our home in millennia" the meteor said, it's thunderous voice booming; the priestesses, however, didn't seem to notice.

"What...where am I?" I asked, the meteor chuckled and was suddenly cracked open as if it were an egg. From inside, a man stood up, I knew immediately who it was: Pyris.

His long flame red hair reached his bum and moved even though there was no breeze, like a slow flickering of a fire, his skin was a rich dark brown color with dark red eyes that looked almost brown. He was massively tall, befitting a god, I didn't even come up to his knees. He was completely naked with a beautifully sculpted body what was the most impressive though was his...equipment. His large tetis hung low from his body and his phallus, even non-erect, was an impressive size, even in comparison to his body.

"My son, I'm so proud that you have decided to enter the Flame and fulfill your destiny as my Son of Cinder" he said squatting down to be closer to my level. "Wait... what? No, please, I shouldn't be here" I said.

Pyris chuckled, a deep warm sound "I know of the stories they share about your ancestors and they're not monsters, they were just more attuned with the fire that exists in all living creatures, but especially men. My wife and I created this world from ash, before the other gods gave it form and meaning; your kind, especially, was made from ash and it was our Fire that allows you to love, to feel, to have passion...some of your ancestors used it to for bad purposes and other used it for good. A tool is neither good nor evil, it depends on how it is used. Don't you agree? A sword could be used for murder, or to protect your family."

I paused, he made sense I had to admit. "Pyra would never agree, she teaches that men should never come in contact with the Dawn Fire, me being here is a mistake!" I protested. "Does she now? I don't remember that...perhaps you should ask her" he said as his eyes looked above me and I turned around. The temple was now open and I saw a massive woman, just shorter than Pyris, laying on her side, her elbow propping her up as he gazed fondly at the Priestesses that knelt before her. "Pyra, don't you have anything to say about this?" I shouted at her.

She didn't respond and for a long moment I just stared at her in confusion until she looked up at me, as if seeing me for the first time. I repeated the question but she just continued to stare before she looked down and said something to the Priestesses. To my amazement I couldn't hear a single word even though I was no more than twenty feet from them. "So rarely do women and men understand each other, and even less so do Gods and mortals understand each other.. I wonder how many words mortals have said, yet claimed that they are from the Gods" Pyris said, with a hint of amusement before looking back down to me.

"Louis, what if I said that as my Son, you'd have the power to save your people?" Pyris said. I turned around to look at him and he smiled, knowing that I was now listening. He smiled "You must find the city where the Dusk Flame lies forgotten, in the city your ancestors named Pyr'acile. As Pyra gave the Dawn Fire, I gave your people the Dusk Fire."

"Pyr'acile? As in the Burned City? The capital of Elve'anthoic?" I asked "But it's location has been lost!" Pyris sighed "Yes, it was most unfortunate, but fire always leaves a trail...so do you agree to become my Son of Cinder?" I nodded, making an easy choice "If it will help my people become free, then yes...but what do you want in return?" "Nothing, I just want to see my fire spread again" he said with a smile.

He bent down and picked up a handful of ashes from the ground around us, shaping them before tapping it with his hand, making all the loose ash fall until a cup was visible. He lowered the cup and I looked away as he grabbed his phallus and started pumping it; I didn't have to wait long before I heard a sigh. Looking back up after a moment, I tried not to stare at his still erect phallus as he placed the cup, that could have doubled as a bath tub for me, on the ground. I stared at the liquid inside the cup, not really liking what was being implied...but I had to do it, for my people.

The liquid was almost boiling hot, tasted spicy and super thick but after the first swallow it became a lot easier. Even though it was a lot of liquid, I didn't feel full, in fact...I don't know, in my stomach it felt like a fire was starting to get lit and this liquid was fuel, being eaten up as soon as it went down. What was strange though, was that I felt heat develop in my groin, especially my balls.

"The ember has been lit, but unless you light the Dusk Fire itself, you will not have the full access to my blessings unfortunately. But now you can start rebuilding the Burning Legions, you can Brand your most loyal followers and make them Ash Warriors and you can start manipulating the most basic of human emotions" Pyris said "Now wake up."

I did, I was sitting in the middle of the fire on top of the tower again. The flames that surrounded me however, were now blue instead of the orangish-red. I snapped my fingers and stared at the blue flame that was now on my finger tips. Blue fire was connected to the Dusk Flame, the signature of the Sons of Cinder; in many places, including Doncaster, a blue flame was all that was needed for a man to lose his life even though it wasn't difficult to change the color of a flame normally. When I touched the ground beside me to get up, I felt something in the ashes with me.

When I got out of the ashes, I picked up the item and found a blue, black and red scepter. On the top was a sapphire, cut to resemble a blue flame that was frozen in time. It wasn't very long, about the size of my forearm. I could feel the sleeping magic inside of it, it was a Catalyst, an object that interacted directly with magic. I poured magic into it and stared as a blue flame blade grew out of the sapphire.

The blade wasn't hot at all and touching it, it was solid as any real blade except for the fact that it was made entirely of blue flames; it was as long for a sword, the 'blade' being two and half feet long. Bringing my other hand into the scepter, the blade grew even longer, almost doubling in size, becoming a two handed claymore with the blade being just shy of four feet long. The sword, somehow, had weight and I nearly toppled over as I tried to swing the claymore version of the blade. Cutting off the magic, the blade went back inside the sapphire and became a mere scepter again.

While I was using the specter though, the kiln that my sister gave me became hotter. Pulling out the kiln and opening it I stared in shock, as the ember inside was now blue instead of red, mirroring the fire I just walked out of and the fire of the blade.

That weird feeling in my balls was still there so I went back inside my room and pulled down my pants. I gasped out loud as my balls were easily more than double in size, becoming the size of avocados, similar in proportion Pyris's; my hips also seemed a little bit wider, as if to accommodate them. My actual dick didn't seemed to have changed which I was grateful for. My balls were very warm to the touch, like rocks who had been in the sun all day; this must have been the fabled fertility of the Sons. I placed my pants back on in disgust, vowing to never repeat the actions of my distant grandfathers in regards to...that.

I looked in the mirror after I placed my pants back on and sighed in relief as no other change seemed to have happened except for being a little bit more bulgy in the groin. I almost laughed when I realized I wasn't a great big fiery demon as some stories said the Sons were, not even my hair or eyes were different. I grabbed a tunic, a shirt whose hem would reach my mid thigh, and nodded in satisfaction as it covered everything up. As I stared at my body, the entire weight of what I did fell upon me, as if the meteor had landed on me.

I was the first Son in thousands of years...and I had no idea how to feel about it. I was completely overwhelmed by the whirlwind of mixed emotions I felt; I felt like I was going mad, as if two people were inside of my head arguing. My grandmothers would weep in their graves if they learned what I have become and my sisters...my mother...would they even love me anymore? One thing was definitely for certain though, I wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

 


	7. Ash Warriors

Chandler stood in my room, his Ice Blade in his hand, as he stared out the window. I sat in a chair, my pants on the floor, a blue ball of fire hanging between us and the sword hilt/scepter beside me as proofs of what I told him; he was my best friend, I couldn't keep something this big a secret. As we sat in silence, I used magic to extend all of my shirts into tunics as an excuse not to look at him.

"Every boy grows up being told the stories of the Age of Fire and how none of us should repeat those mistakes...If I were to kill you i'd be celebrated as a hero" he said to the window, gripping his sword tighter. "I did it for our people" I repeated again "We still have the same goals Chandler, nothing has changed"

"Make me an Ash Warrior then and I won't tell anyone" Chandler said, turning back to me. "Wait, what?" I asked, surprised. "We both know the stories, the Ash Warriors who couldn't die until their Son was killed, the elite of the Burning Legions, the stories say that a handful could make entire nations crumble. I've already taken a Blood Oath so I'll both the blessings of Pyris and Sangunie at once." "Chandler, those warriors are just as hated as the Sons were! Just because I have sinned doesn't mean I'll drag you down with me!" I countered "Plus...I want you to make me a promise that if I become a Son like in the tales...that you'll kill me. I refuse to become a monster."

Chandler was silent for a long time before he said "I don't think I could-" "Promise me!" I shouted and the blue fireball suddenly flared up, feeding off my temper. Neither of us were harmed but Chandler stared at me wide eyed for a long moment before he said "The power of the Sons...maybe... maybe we need a second Age of Fire, for the future of our people."

"Will you kill me if I get out of control?" I asked again. Chandler looked at me before looking out the window again "I swore to always protect our people...if you endanger them...I'll keep my promise."

I pulled my pants back quickly as I heard a knock at my door when I was decent Chandler moved to open the door where a Blood Elf was holding a sealed scroll. Chandler took and gave it to me after inspecting it; small pieces of ash were still in the rolls of the scroll since it was sent here via the Oracle Fire, it must have had important news.

Dearest brother Louis,

Last night, all high ranking Fire Sisters including myself had a dream in which Pyra announced that a man had become a Son of Cinder. The news has rocked our lands to the core, as I write this, my Sisters are debating on what to do but I think that they will announce the rebirth of the Inquisition."

I gasped out loud "The Inquisition? So they're going to start rounding up men off the streets to question then? Putting them to death if they even suspect anything?" Chandler swore outloud "Even I were to kill you or turn you in now, I'd be put to death too for being your friend...what does the rest of the letter say?"

I nodded and started reading again "Brother, many were quick to assume that you were the one who has betrayed us, but I know your heart is pure. I'll defend you even though many point out that you have been the only Unkindled man to be near the Dawn Fire.

Be careful and be safe.

Lovingly yours,

Felicita

I put down the letter and stared out the window, just thinking. "We need to tell the Blood Elves, if there is an Inquisition...they may be in danger, we have six men with us. Plus I'm sure they'd want to know if their brothers and fathers are in danger" Chandler said quietly. "What exactly do we tell them?" I asked. "Everything, including your new found power" Chandler said "They'll remain loyal to you, they hate Humans above all else so unless you sell them to Humans, they'll tolerate most everything else." "Are you sure?" I asked. "No...but it's what I'm hoping" Chandler admitted. I nodded "You're right, we need to trust them and they need to trust us; we're strangers in a hostile land, we need each other to survive."

-

I sat in my room, now able to fully think about what Chandler said. I was utterly terrified that the Blood Elves would revolt against me and storm my tower, no pun intended. Sure, Chandler said that they wouldn't have an issue with it but what if he was wrong? How could anyone be ok with helping the monster in their children's tales? He was downstairs, telling all of them himself.

I looked over when Chandler walked in and said "The Blood Elves want to talk to you." I took a deep breath and I followed him down to the first floor where all the Blood Elves turned to look at me, one of them had a paper outstretched and on the bottom was all of their signatures.

Prince Louis,

All of us have joined the Blood Elves to bring an end to the Tyranny of Humanity. If you have become a Son a Cinder we wish to join you, we all realize that doing to so forfeit our lives but we'll give any price to free our people. We'll give up our allegiance to Sangunie and give to you instead.

Please Brand us, turn us into Ash Warriors, we'll serve you faithfully.

May the Flame burn forever

I looked up and saw all of the Blood Elves kneeling in front of me.

It was different than what Chandler wanted me to do to him. Chandler was my friend, these Elves came here because they were the ones who could survive and stay strong during torture, these were some of the best, most loyal Blood Elves to ever join the resistance. These Elves had no future, as they would spend their entire lives fighting Humans.

"Ok" I said and the first one walked towards on his knees until he was in front of me. I sighed as I took out the ember from the kiln, the ember levitated on it's own, seeming to sense what I wanted to do. "Ready?" I asked, holding the ember a few inches above my hand. The Blood Elf nodded and I gently pushed the ember into his forehead.

He hissed in pain and I pulled the ember off of his skin, the Brand would be seen; a three pronged flame on the forehead made from blacken scar tissue, yet looking only like a tattoo. His hair also changed in front of us, going from a dirty blonde to black. "How do you feel? Can you speak again" Chandler asked when I pulled away the ember "If you can speak then your bond with Sangunie is broken."

Cauthis took out a knife from his belt a slice his hand open, along a scar that said he'd done this countless times before. The blood dripped from his hand but as it landed on the stone ground, flowers grew. He smiled to himself and said "I can still feel the Blood God's gift running through my veins but...I feel the Flame more" he said as the broken skin of his hand became whole again. He snapped his fingers to produce flames, but instead of blue fire the accursed Midnight Flame appeared in his hand; as fire burns everything away into blackness, the Black Flame was the trademark of the Ash Warriors.

The look in his eyes as he touched the Brand on his forehead...I knew he would stay loyal to me forever. Over my shoulder I could almost feel Pyris beam in pride was I slowly turned all of the Blood Elves into the first of my Ash Warriors.

"We'll never be able to return home, not Branded as we are, especially not with the Inquisition happening" one of the Blood Elves turned Ash Warrior said. "To protect our homeland...we had to betray it, we are Forsworn" another of the Elves said

"Forsworn as we are, we still need the support of the rest of the Blood Elves, but we need to keep this a secret for as long as we can" Chandler said. "Then we'll no longer be recruiting for the Blood Elves but for the Burning Legions" a third Ash Warrior said matter of factly. "The second Age of Fire is starting" a fourth Elf said grimly. "Once a fire is lit, it's almost impossible to extinguish" I repeated the old saying, having extremely mixed feelings about this entire day. I watched as the Elves grew out their black bangs to cover their Brands.


End file.
